Dictionary

midge en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /mɪd͡ʒ/
• (Southern-England) audio
• mĭj

Etymology

From Middle English mydge, migge, from Old English myġġ, myċġ (“midge, gnat, mosquito”), from Proto-West Germanic *muggju, from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mu-, *mew- (“fly, midge”). The dialectal sense of "short person" was originally figurative, and gave rise to midget (“short person”) via the diminutive suffix -et, which has since become part of standard English with that meaning; this has caused midge to undergo rebracketing as a clipping of midget. Cognates * Scots mige (“midge”) * Saterland Frisian Määge (“gnat, mosquito”) * West Frisian mich (“fly, mosquito”) * West Flemish meezje (“midge, mosquito”) * Dutch mug (“midge, gnat, mosquito”) * German Low German Mügge (“midge, gnat, mosquito”) * German Mücke (“midge, gnat, mosquito”) * Swedish mygg, mygga (“midge, gnat, mosquito”) * Icelandic mý (“midge, gnat, fly”) The Proto-Indo-European root was also the source of * Latin musca * Ancient Greek μυῖα (muîa) * Russian му́ха (múxa) * Latvian muša * Czech muchnička * Albanian mizë * Armenian մուն (mun)

Meanings

1. Any of various small two-winged flies, for example, from the family Chironomidae or non-biting midges, the family Chaoboridae or phantom midges, and the family Ceratopogonidae or biting midges, all belonging to the order Diptera.
   • Devils Lake is where I began my career as a limnologist in 1964, studying the lake’s neotenic salamanders and chironomids, or midge flies. […] The Devils Lake Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin covering about 9,800 square kilometers in northeastern North Dakota. 2012 January 14, Douglas Larson, “Runaway Devils Lake”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 23 May 2012, page 46:
   • "I am being eaten alive!" cried Pippin. "Midgewater! There are more midges than water!" 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, “A Knife in the Dark”, in The Fellowship of the Ring:
2. (Northern-England, Scotland, qualifier:now chiefly school slang) A small, short or insignificant person.
3. Any bait or lure designed to resemble a midge.

Forms

Deriveds

midgeproof · net-winged midge · aphid midge · biting midge · barley midge · wheat-midge · sorghum midge · non-biting midge · dung midge · midgeling · midget · midge grass · midge net · meniscus midge · phantom midge · mugwort · pear midge · gall midge · mackerel midge · apple midge · midge cap · midgey · apple leaf midge · swede midge · Midge Hall · mountain midge · frog-biting midge · fruit midge · solitary midge · antimidge · wheat midge

Relateds

gnat

Translations (46)

de Mücke (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · mi pōngarongaro (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · az muz (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · it moscerino (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · uk мушка (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · da myg (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · scn sampagghiuni (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · fi sääski (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · uk мошка (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · az mız (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · izh moška (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · sq mushicë (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · no mygg (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · pt mosquito (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · niq kipcharkarario (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · sq harrje (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · mi namupoto (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · es jején (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · gd meanbh-chuileag (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · ja ユスリカ (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · gl mosquito (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · mi nahonaho (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · la culex (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · sv mygg (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · pl kuczman (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · ko 모기 (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · cs pakomárec (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · nds-de Mügg (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · hy մլակ (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · scn muschitta (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · gv meeyl (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · alt јелимчи (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · gv quill (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · lv miģele (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · ru мошка (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · nl mug (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · no knott (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · mi naonao (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · cy gwybed (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · es mosquito (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · vi ruồi nhuế (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · fr moucheron (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · nrf bibet (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · cmn 摇蚊 (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · ga míoltóg (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae) · cs pakomár (fly of family Chironomidae or Ceratopogonidae)